How to tell when water reaches 100 degrees Fahrenheit without a candy thermometer for the purposes of disolving gelatin

gelatintemperature

I found a recipe for a gelatin desert I'd like to try. But there was one step I don't feel prepared to tackle:

In the meantime, in a small sauce pan heat ΒΌ cup of water to about 100
degrees. Add the gelatin to the water and let dissolve.

I don't have a candy thermometer to measure the temperature of my water. Would it be sufficient to use hot tap water? Or should I bring the water to a slow or full boil? Does the precise temperature make a difference when dissolving gelatin or is it ok to be rather approximate?

Best Answer

Gelatin is quite tolerant, but with a few restrictions:

  • Never boil gelatine, because it looses it's binding/gelling properties.
  • Liquifying gelatine requires temperatures that feel "warm" to the touch, but not all recipes handle warm additions well - e.g. whipped cream.
  • Cooling liquid gelatine for heat sensitive recipes should happen fairly quick, and so should incorporating the coolish gelatine to the other ingredients : Stir well or you end up with "gummy bear"- like lumps.

So without knowing the details of your recipe I suggest using fairly warm water in the range of "warm bath water" or "comfortable for washing hands" but not at all "hot". (Note that I don't give a precise temperature range on purpose.) Hot tap water should suffice, but heating it on the stove is fine, too. Just use gentle heat and don't let the gelatine rest on the bottom of the pot to avoid overheating. Depending on your next steps, you might want to stir the liquid gelatine until it's barely warm to the touch or add a few spoonfulls of whatever cool mixture you are planning to bind, stir, then add to the rest. For warm other ingredients, extra cooling is not required, just mix and let set.

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